157 
K4? 


Ketchum 
Engineering  as  a  Profession 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES' 


UNIVERSITY  OF  COLORADO  BULLETIN 

Vol.  XVI,  No.  6.      G.neral  Series  No.  98. 

Published  Monthly  by  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  Colorado. 
Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Boulder,  Colorado,  as  second-class  mail  matter. 


ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION 


BY 


MILO  S.  KETCHUM,  C.  E. 

Dean  of  the  College  of  Engineering 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  5 

WHY  Go  TO  COLLEGE 6 

THE  VALUE  OF  A  TECHNICAL  EDUCATION 11 

THE  MAKING  OF  AN  ENGINEEB 17 

FIELD  OF  THE  ENGINEER 21 

OPPORTUNITIES  OF  THE    ENGINEER ......  24 


35115 


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INTRODUCTION 


With  the  advance  in  science  and  in  the  arts  our  life  and  the 
things  we  do  are  becoming  more  and  more  complex.  With  the 
changes  that  will  occur  after  the  close  of  the  war  the  demands  will 
be  much  greater  and  new  opportunities  will  open.  To  be  able  to 
meet  the  competition  in  business  and  industrial  life,  the  young 
man  of  the  future  will  need  a  much  better  preparation  than  can  be 
obtained  by  a  high-school  course. 

In  a  recent  article  in  the  Independent,  Judge  Elbert  H.  Gary, 
Chairman  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  makes  the  follow- 
ing comment  on  the  value  of  the  work  of  high  grade  technical  and 
engineering  schools: 

"Their  graduates  have  a  highly  specialized  knowledge  that  is 
immediately  saleable,  and  if  a  young  man  can  by  any  means  obtain 
such  a  technical  education  I  should  say  that  he  would  be  well-ad- 
vised to  do  so.  In  fact,  I  believe  that  this  kind  of  specialized  train- 
ing will  in  increasing  measure  become  the  quickest  road  to  success 
in  practical  business  of  the  future." 

The  papers  in  this  collection  were  first  published  in  the  Colo- 
rado Engineers'  Magazine,  the  quarterly  publication  of  the  engineer- 
ing students  of  the  University  of  Colorado.  The  aim  in  writing 
these  articles  was  to  give  high-school  students  and  college  students 
an  appreciation  of  the  advantages  to  be  gained  from  a  college  train- 
ing, and  to  impress  them  with  their  responsibilities  in  life.  The 
papers  were  written  at  different  times  and  there  is  therefore  some 
duplication  of  ideas.  That  the  reading  of  these  articles  may  give 
young  men  the  courage  to  get  an  adequate  preparation  for  life  is 
the  hope  of  the  author. 


WHY  GO  TO  COLLEGE?* 


Last  year  nearly  400,000  young  men  and  young  women  were  in 
attendance  at  institutions  of  higher  learning  in  North  America. 
Many  of  these  students  found  it  possible  to  go  to  college  only  by 
the  sacrifice  of  their  parents  and  by  the  strictest  economy.  Several 
years  ago  a  wealthy  business  man  published  several  pamphlets  in 
which  he  criticized  the  colleges  very  severely  and  endeavored  to 
show  that  it  was  a  waste  of  time  for  any  young  man  to  go  to  college. 
It  is  said  that  Horace  Greeley  had  a  sign  in  his  office  which  read: 
"No  College  Graduates  or  other  horned  cattle  need  apply." 

If  a  millionaire  business  man  and  one  of  our  greatest  editors 
had  no  use  for  a  college  graduate  it  is  certainly  proper  for  you  to 
ask  the  question,  "Why  Go  To  College?" 

Before  considering  the  advantages  of  a  college  education  it  will 
be  well  to  consider  very  briefly  the  progress  of  civilization  during 
the  last  few  decades.  Before  the  days  of  electricity,  of  modern 
methods  of  transportation  and  production,  of  the  telephone  and  the 
telegraph  and  the  application  of  scientific  achievement,  the  oppor- 
tunities of  any  one  man  lay  in  a  very  narrow  field,  and  it  was  pos- 
sible for  him  to  enter  business  or  a  profession  and  reach  a  position 
of  prominence  with  a  limited  educational  equipment.  In  those  days 
the  curricula  of  Harvard  and  Yale  were  more  limited  and  very 
much  less  efficient  than  the  present  curricula  of  our  best  high 
schools.  With  the  exception  of  the  three  learned  professions  of 
Law,  Ministry,  and  Medicine  there  were  very  few  college  trained 
men.  In  addition  there  were  no  large  cities  and  conditions  of  life 
were  relatively'  simple.  Today  we  find  the  conditions  of  business 
and  social  life  very  complex.  The  advance  in  educational  standards 
and  ideals  has  been  fully  as  rapid  as  the  advance  in  material  things. 
In  addition  to  the  classical  college  we  now  have  technical  and  pro- 
fessional schools  giving  training  for  the  professions,  and  universities 
in  which  students  may  obtain  both  liberal  and  vocational  training. 
Today  the  college  graduate  is  found  occupying  positions  of  leader- 
ship in  all  lines  of  activity.  Not  only  are  college  graduates  found 
in  the  President's  chair,  in  the  cabinet  and  in  Congress,  but  they  are 


'Extracts  from  a  Chapel  Address. 


WHY  OO   TO  COLLEGE f  1 

occupying  positions  as  presidents  and  managers  of  railroads,  editors 
of  magazines,  presidents  and  managers  of  great  business  and  man- 
ufacturing concerns.  While  there  is  still  more  or  less  criticism  of 
the  recent  college  graduate,  his  position  has  materially  changed  in 
the  last  few  years,  and  in  place  of  the  sign  of  Horace  Greeley,  "No 
College  Graduates  or  other  horned  cattle  need  apply,"  in  many  lines 
of  work  no  one  not  a  college  graduate  is  even  given  an  opportunity 
to  show  his  worth.  As  an  example  of  the  attitude  of  a  great  corpo- 
ration it  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road will  no  longer  take  into  its  employ  in  line  for  promotion  any- 
one who  is  not  a  college  or  technical  graduate.  The  same  thing  is 
true  of  most  of  the  large  industrial  and  manufacturing  concerns. 

With  the  changes  in  business  and  in  the  industries  have  come 
many  changes  in  government  until  special  training  is  as  necessary 
to  hold  a  government  position  as  it  is  to  hold  a  position  with  a  pri- 
vate concern.  Our  larger  cities  now  furnish  the  people  with  water, 
with  light,  with  transportation,  with  sanitary  surroundings  in  addi- 
tion to  the  police  protection  which  was  formerly  sufficient.  To 
govern  a  city  now  requires  a  highly  specialized  training  in  law,  in 
business  and  in  engineering.  Corporations  have  grown  to  be  so  rich 
and  powerful  that  they  must  come  under  government  control.  The 
national  government  has  recently  undertaken  the  task  of  making  a 
physical  valuation  of  all  the  railroads  in  the  United  States.  This 
work  will  require  the  services  of  several  thousand  trained  engineers 
for  many  years. 

One  reason  for  going  to  college  then  is  that  the  training  that 
you  get  in  college  will  give  you  a  chance  to  take  part  in  the  world's 
work  as  a  leader.  It  also  increases  your  opportunities  for  service 
and  for  personal  pleasure  and  profit.  In  addition  to  the  mental 
training  and  discipline  that  will  prepare  the  college  graduate  to  live 
with  the  world,  he  should  also  learn  to  live  with  himself.  He 
should  get  a  taste  for  good  literature,  he  should  lay  the  foundation 
of  life-long  friendships  and  should  get  that  breadth  of  view  and 
finesse  of  intellect  that  distinguishes  the  cultured  man.  "A  graduate 
who  studies  to  be  a  specialist  in  any  line  needs  also  the  education 
which  will  give  him  depth,  background  and  the  historical  signifi- 
cance of  civilization  and  life  in  general." 

The  contribution  of  the  college  to  individual  leadership  is  well 
expressed  by  President  Hadley  of  Yale: 


8  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

"If  a  college  man  has  used  the  opportunities  offered  by  the  fac- 
ulty, he  has  acquired  a  wide  knowledge  of  history  and  a  broad  view 
of  public  affairs.  If  he  has  utilized  the  opportunities  offered  by  his 
fellow  students,  he  has  acquired  the  democratic  spirit,  has  gotten  a 
grip  upon  the  public  opinion,  and  has  had  a  considerable  experience 
in  dealing  with  a  large  variety  of  men.  All  these  things  give  him 
an  advantage  in  the  race,  and  statistics  show  that  he  has  made  good 
use  of  this  advantage." 

If  you  are  to  go  to  college  what  college  should  you  select? 
Should  you  select  a  small  college  or  a  large  one?  Is  it  better  for  you 
to  come  to  the  University  of  Colorado  or  should  you  have  gone  to 
the  large  middle  west  or  eastern  schools?  The  libraries  and  labora- 
tories of  the  smaller  schools  are  entirely  adequate  for  your  under- 
graduate work.  While  the  large  university  has  some  advantages, 
the  smaller  schools  have  a  decided  advantage  for  undergraduate 
students  in  that  they  have  an  opportunity  to  take  much  of  their 
work  under  experienced  and  mature  teachers,  in  classes  small 
enough  so  that  they  may  come  directly  in  contact  with  the  teacher, 
a  privilege  not  possible  in  the  larger  universities. 

It  is  as  important  that  the  student  should  choose  instructors 
quite  as  carefully  as  institutions.  What  a  man  selects  when  he 
gets  to  college — his  studies,  his  teacher  and  his  friends — will  prove 
far  more  vital  to  him  than  the  institution  he  happens  to  choose. 

After  all  the  greatest  privilege  given  to  the  college  student  is 
the  opportunity  to  come  in  direct  personal  contact  with  men  and 
women  who  have  given  their  lives  to  literature,  science,  or  engi- 
neering, who  live  in  their  work,  and  to  whom  the  greatest  joy  is  in 
assisting  students  to  unlock  the  storehouse  of  knowledge. 

In  the  preface  of  a  recent  book  on  "Why  Go  to  College?"  the 
author,  Clayton  Sedgwick  Cooper,  who  has  spent  more  than  ten 
years  in  visiting  educational  institutions  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  pays  this  tribute  to  the  great  teacher: 

"The  characteristics  of  a  college  course  demanded  by  our  Amer- 
ican undergraduates  is  determined  by  two  things;  first,  by  the  char- 
acter of  the  man  who  is  to  be  educated,  and  second,  by  the  kind  of 
world  in  which  the  man  is  to  live  and  work.  Without  these  two 
factors  vividly  and  practically  in  mind,  all  plans  for  courses  of 
study,  recreation,  teaching,  or  methods  of  social  and  religious  better- 
ment are  theoretical  and  uncertain. 


WHY  GO   TO  COLLEGE?  9 

"After  ten  years  of  travel  among  American  college  men,  study- 
ing educational  tendencies  in  not  less  than  seven  hundred  diverse 
institutions  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  it  is 
my  deep  conviction  that  the  chief  need  of  our  North  American  edu- 
cational system  is  to  focus  attention  upon  the  individual  student 
rather  than  upon  his  environment,  either  in  the  curriculum  or  in 
the  college  buildings. 

"A  few  great  teachers  in  every  worthy  North  American  institu- 
tion who  know  and  love  the  boys,  have  always  been  and  doubtless 
will  continue  to  be  the  secret  of  the  power  of  our  schools  and  col- 
leges. There  are  indications  that  our  present  educational  system 
involving  vast  endowments  will  be  increasingly  directed  to  the  end 
of  engaging  as  teachers  the  greatest  men  of  the  time,  men  of  great 
heart  as  well  as  of  great  brain,  who  will  live  with  students,  truly 
caring  for  them  as  well  as  teaching  them.  We  shall  thus  come 
nearer  to  solving  the  problem  of  preparing  young  men  for  leadership 
and  useful  citizenship. 

"That  this  is  the  sensible  and  general  demand  of  graduates  is 
easily  discovered  by  asking  any  college  alumnus  to  state  the  strong- 
est and  most  abiding  impression  left  by  his  college  training.  Of  one 
hundred  graduates  whom  I  asked  the  concrete  question,  'What  do 
you  consider  to  be  the  most  valuable  thing  in  your  college  course?' 
eighty-six  said,  substantially,  'Personal  contact  with  a  great 
teacher.' " 

I  have  said  nothing  about  the  money  value  of  a  college  educa- 
tion. I  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  from  an  address  that  I  de- 
livered to  the  engineering  students  a  couple  of  years  ago  on  the 
Value  of  a  Technical  Education. 

"If  it  is  your  ambition  to  get  so  many  dollars  a  day  or  so  many 
dollars  a  month;  if  all  work  is  something  which  is  distasteful  to 
you;  if  you  are  willing  to  be  a  plodder,  to  be  handicapped  in  the  race 
for  life;  it  will  not  pay  you  to  make  the  necessary  effort  to  get  a 
technical  education.  But  if  you  are  ambitious  to  do  and  to  serve, 
to  enter  a  profession  that  will  occupy  all  of  your  energy,  and  one  in 
which  honesty,  integrity,  constructive  imagination,  clear  thinking, 
painstaking,  careful  work  counts;  where  you  have  to  deal  not  only 
with  the  forces  of  nature,  but  with  men,  it  will  pay  you  to  get  a 
technical  education.  The  measure  of  success  in  life  is  not  measured 
by  the  money  accumulated,  but  in  a  good  work  well  done.  A  large 
part  of  the  compensation  in  any  profession  must  be  found  in  the 


10  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

doing  of  the  day's  work,  in  the  joy  that  comes  from  work  well  done. 
The  beginning  may  be  slow,  but  success  will  come  sooner  or  later, 
and  with  it  sufficient  emoluments  for  your  needs,  together  with 
the  satisfaction  of  a  life  well  spent." 

To  sum  up  you  should  go  to  college  for  the  reasons  that  it  gives 
you: 

Special  Training; 

Liberal  Training; 

A  Taste  for  Good  Literature; 

Ideals  of  Life; 

A  Knowledge  of  Public  Affairs; 

The  Ability  to  Think  Clearly; 

An  Acquaintance  With  a  Few  Leaders  in  Science  and  Litera- 
ture. 

This  training  makes  it  possible  for  you  to  be  of  greater  service 
to  the  world  and  to  get  more  out  of  life  for  yourself  in  the  way  of 
satisfaction  and  appreciation. 

I  cannot  bring  my  remarks  to  a  close  in  a  more  fitting  manner 
than  by  quoting  the  last  paragraph  from  this  most  interesting  book, 
"Why  Go  to  College?"  which  you  will  enjoy  reading: 

"After  we  have  said  much  concerning  the  life  and  the  work  of 
the  American  undergraduate,  there  is  still  a  valuable  thing  which 
the  college  should  impart  to  him,  and  through  which  he  should  be- 
come enabled  to  present  with  greater  charm  and  with  greater  force 
the  message  which  is  in  his  soul.  This  valuable  thing,  at  once  both 
idealism  and  incentive,  is  the  undergraduate's  individual  message 
to  the  world.  It  may  be  composed  of  knowledge,  the  ability  to 
think,  the  faculty  of  relaxation,  and  the  power  to  do  faithfully  and 
successfully  some  given  task.  These  things,  however,  are  all  de- 
pendent upon  the  spirit  of  the  actor,  upon  his  vision,  his  determi- 
nation, his  ambitious  and  unflagging  attempts.  The  true  modern 
university  contributes  to  the  world  a  great-minded  and  a  great- 
hearted man,  to  whom  college  life  has  been  a  soul's  birth  as  well  as 
a  mind's  awakening.  It  gives  to  its  youth  that  peculiar  but  in- 
dispensable thing  which  burned  in  the  heart  of  the  young  art  student 
who  stood  before  the  masterpiece  and  said,  'I,  too,  am  a  painter.' " 


THE  VALUE  OF  A  TECHNICAL 
EDUCATION* 


You  are  here  at  the  University  of  Colorado  to  get  a  technical 
education.  This  will  mean  an  expenditure  of  four  years  in  a  high 
school  and  four  years  in  the  University,  together  with  a  considerable 
sum  of  money.  In  addition  to  the  direct  expenditure  of  money  your 
earning  capacity  in  the  doing  of  those  things  which  require  manual 
dexterity  and  skill  has  not  increased  in  the  proportiion  that  it  would 
had  you  been  engaged  in  this  class  of  work  for  the  eight  years  that 
it  will  take  you  to  get  an  education.  It  has  been  made  possible  for 
many  of  you  to  be  here  by  the  sacrifice  of  your  parents  and  friends 
and  by  the  strictest  economy.  In  view  of  the  above  considerations 
it  is  proper  that  you  should  know  something  about  the  value  of  a 
technical  education.  In  order  that  you  may  have  a  better  apprecia- 
tion of  a  technical  education  and  be  better  prepared  to  view  the 
matter  from  all  sides  it  will  be  well  to  consider  briefly  the  essentials 
of  such  an  education. 

The  present  technical  course  in  engineering  is  built  on  four 
years'  work  in  a  first-class  high  school,  and  gives  the  graduate  a 
thorough  foundation  in  science,  mathematics,  mechanics  and  Eng- 
lish. The  principal  object  in  a  technical  education  is  to  train  the 
man  for  efficiency,  to  give  him  power  to  think  for  himself,  to  develop 
his  imagination  in  order  that  he  may  be  able  to  plan  work  so  that 
the  finished  structure  will  serve  the  purpose  intended,  in  the  be'st 
possible  way.  In  order  to  make  the  most  of  his  opportunities  as  an 
engineer  the  student  must  have  a  training  for  life. 

A  relatively  small  percentage  of  ambitious  young  men  have  an 
opportunity  to  complete  a  high  school  course  and  a  course  in  a  high 
grade  technical  school.  The  trade  school  offers  an  opportunity  for 
these  boys  to  get  sufficient  training  in  order  that  they  may  become 
expert  mechanics,  superintendents,  etc.  The  object  and  aim  of  a 
trade  school  is  to  make  a  high  grade  mechanic.  The  object  and  aim 
of  a  technical  school  is  to  make  a  high  grade  engineer;  a  man  who 
shall  be  a  leader  among  men,  a  man  who  shall  deal  not  only  with 


'Extracts  from  an  address  at  an  Engineering  Convocation. 


12  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

things,  but  with  men;  a  man  to  whom  the  joy  of  doing  the  thing 
means  more  than  the  compensation  received  for  the  doing.  The 
trade  school  course  is  to  prepare  for  a  trade;  the  technical  college 
course  is  a  preparation  for  a  profession. 

Before  going  into  the  detail  of  making  a  product  it  is  well  to 
have  a  definite  idea  of  what  the  finished  product  should  be.  -Engi- 
neering, especially  in  America,  has  always  differed  and  is  now  rad- 
ically different  from  all  other  professions,  in  that  they  are  profes- 
sions of  conservatism,  while  engineering  is  one  of  action.  In  the 
best  and  broadest  sense  an  engineer  is  one  who  creates,  one  who 
designs  material  things  and  by  applying  the  laws  and  forces  of 
nature  causes  to  be  brought  into  being  those  things  which  are  of 
service  to  maftt  Probably  the  best  definition  of  engineering  is  that 
given  by  the  late  A.  M.  Wellington.  "Engineering  is  the  art  of  doing 
well  with  one  dollar  what  a  bungler  can  do  with  two,  after  a  fashion, 
or  in  special  cases  cannot  do  at  all."  The  man  who  builds  a  rail- 
road from  anywhere  to  anywhere,  who  designs  a  bridge,  or  who  de- 
signs a  power  plant  is  not  necessarily  an  engineer.  He,  only,  is  an 
engineer  who  designs  economically  after  having  carefully  studied 
existing  and  future  conditions  of  topography,  revenue  and  finance. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  an  engineering  student  comes  to  college 
to  prepare  himself  for  real  success  in  his  chosen  profession.  This 
being  true,  it  may  be  of  assistance  to  the  future  engineers  and  to 
others  of  the  student  body  to  know  what  have  been  the  difficulties 
of  those  who  have  gone  before,  and  how  one  might  best  avoid  the 
mistakes  that  he  might  otherwise  make. 

On  graduation  you  will  enter  the  employ  of  some  firm  or 
man,  and  you  should  be  interested  in  knowing  what  an  employer  is 
looking  for  in  an  employee.  While  I  might  state  definitely  what  I 
have  looked  for  in  selecting  an  employee,  I  prefer  to  give  the 
specifications  of  a  prominent  consulting  engineer  who  is  now  presi- 
dent of  a  technical  school,  Alexander  C.  Humphreys  of  Stevens  In- 
stitute. He  says,  "I  would  select,  first,  for  honesty,  then  for  thor- 
oughness and  then  for  energy  and  earnestness.  First  of  all,  I  do 
not  want  any  man  in  my  employ  unless  he  is  honest  in  his  intention 
to  work  wholly  in  my  interest.  Secondly,  I  do  not  want  him  unless 
he  will  do  the  work  assigned  to  him  thoroughly,  even  if  the  quan- 
tity of  work  is  not  large.  Lastly,  if  I  can  get  a  man  who  is  honest 
and  thorough,  and  also  is  endowed  with  energy  and  earnestness,  in 
other  words,  has  a  large  capacity  for  work,  I  know  then  that  I  have 


THE  VALUE  OF  A.  TECHNICAL  EDUCATION.  13 

a  man  that  will  meet  all  reasonable  requirements.  The  man  who 
performs  any  duty,  no  matter  how  humble,  anything  less  than  thor- 
oughly has  no  right  to  expect  promotion.  The  employer  who  would 
promote  such  an  employee  does  not  deserve  loyal  service." 

--To  repeat  what  President  Humphreys  has  so  well  said;  if  you 
expect  promotion  you  must  be  honest,  you  must  be  loyal  to  your  em- 
ployer, you  must  be  competent,  you  must  be  thorough,  you  must  be 
industrious,  you  must  be  energetic.  Employers  today  say  that  it  is 
quite  as  difficult  to  secure  competent  employees,  as  men  out  of 
positions  find  it  difficult  to  secure  satisfactory  employment.  Wide- 
awake employers  are  constantly  on  the  watch  to  find  whether  or 
not  young  men  in  their  employ  have  the  ability  for  higher  positions^-. 

If,  then,  these  are  the  essentials  for  success,  how  may  you  best 
prepare  yourselves  to  meet  the  demands  when  you  have  graduated? 
I  cannot  map  out  a  definite  line  of  action  for  each  one,  but  I  can 
call  your  attention  to  certain  things  to  which  you  should  give  more 
or  less  attention,  depending  upon  your  needs  and  your  environment. 

Begin  by  getting  a  right  idea  of  work.  Genius  is  all  right  In  its 
way,  but  it  will  not  do  your  work.  Your  first  duty  is  always  that 
which  is  immediately  before  you.  Remember  that  your  opportunity 
is  the  small  one  that  lies  directly  before  you,  and  not  the  large  one 
that  you  hope  to  get  next  week.  The  only  step  that  you  can  take 
in  advance  is  the  next  one.  Cultivate  singleness  of  purpose.  We 
are  often  surprised  at  the  efficiency  of  the  uneducated,  but  we  find 
that  they  have  given  their  work  so  much  attention  that  they  are  able 
to  excel  those  that  have  had  better  opportunities.  The  broadening 
power  of  education  and  training  increases  one's  range  of  vision,  but 
unless  the  power  of  concentration  is  likewise  cultivated  there  is  a 
tendency  to  scatter  instead  of  doing  effective  work.  David  Starr 
Jordan  has  said:  "The  purpose  of  knowledge  is  action.  But  to  re- 
fuse action  is  to  secure  time  for  the  acquisition  of  more  'knowledge. 
It  is  written  in  every  structure  of  the  brain  that  each  impression  of 
the  senses  must  bring  with  it  the  impulse  to  act.  To  resist  this  im- 
pulse is  to  destroy  it.  This  lack  of  balance  between  knowledge  and 
achievement  is  the  main  element  in  a  form  of  ineffectiveness  which, 
with  various  others,  has  been  uncritically  called  degeneration." 

Be  diligent.  Get  what  you  go  after  and  do  not  easily  be  turned 
aside.  When  you  go  after  anything,  get  it  all.  Do  not  be  satisfied 
with  anything  less  than  full  competency  in  everything,  from  essen- 
tials to  details.  Some  can  use  what  they  have  with  great  effect, 


14  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

while  others  appear  to  have  a  faculty  for  obtaining  a  vast  amount 
of  misinformation.  To  be  right  you  must  be  100  per  cent  right; 
almost  but  not  quite  never  won  a  race.  You  are  deserving  of  no  par- 
ticular credit  for  doing  a  thing  right  the  second  or  third  time  you 
have  tried  it;  real  power  is  characterized  by  the  ability  to  do  a 
thing  right  the  first  time. 

Think  clearly.  Many  minds  are  overwhelmed  with  a  flood  of 
ideas,  but  are  not  able  to  systematize  and  arrange  their  thoughts. 

Train  your  reasoning  and  intuition.  The  reasonableness  of  each 
result  should  be  inquired  into.  Be  frank  in  admitting  your  mistakes 
and  profit  by  them. 

Perhaps  no  one  thing  will  be  of  more  service  to  you  in  college 
and  in  after  life  than  a  cheerful  and  optimistic  attitude.  Not  only 
will  this  make  you  agreeable  and  better  understood,  but  it  will  exert 
an  influence  on  all  your  associates. 

In  brief  then,  remember  that  whatever  success  you  have  in  life 
is  going  to  come  out  of  yourself.  You  cannot  borrow  success,  the 
University  will  not  give  it  to  you  as  it  does  your  diploma.  It  is  the 
inherent  -capacity  to  perform  with  your  brain  that  will  make  you 
what  you  become,  and  not  the  education  you  receive.  Your  educa- 
tion will  therefore  be  of  little  service  to  you  in  reaching  success  un- 
less you  are, honest,  unless  you  are  loyal,  unless  you  are  diligent, 
unless  you  are  willing  to  work  hard  and  long.  If  you  have  these 
then  your  education  will  assist  you  and  will  make  it  possible  for  you 
to  reach  real  success;  a  life  well  spent  in  your  chosen  profession 
and  service  to  others. 

I  cannot  give  you  a  better  idea  of  the  type  of  man  that  is 
needed  for  complete  success  in  the  engineering  profession  than  by 
quoting  to  you  an  extract  from  the  report  of  Chief  Engineer  Starling, 
of  the  Mississippi  River  Levee  Commissioners:     "A  good  engineer  VD 
must  be  of  inflexible  integrity,  sober,  truthful,  accurate,  resoluter"]^ 
discreet,  of  cool  and  sound  judgment,  must  have  command  of  his 
temper,  must  have  courage  to  resist  and  repel  attempts  at  intimi- 
dation, a  firmness  that  is  proof  against  solicitation,  flattery  or  im- 
proper bias  of  any  kind,  must  take  an  interest  in  his  work,  must  be     ' 
energetic,  quick  to  decide,  prompt  to  act,  must  be  as  fair  and  im- 
partial as  a  judge  on  the  bench,  must  have  experience  in  his  work 
and  in  dealing  with  men,  which  implies  some  maturity  of  years, 
must  have  business  habits  and  a  knowledge  of  accounts.     Men  who 
combine  these  qualities  are  not  to  be  picked  up  every  day.     Still 


THE  VALVE  OF  A  TECHNICAL  EDUCATION.  15 

they  can  be  found.  But  they  are  greatly  in  demand,  and  when  found 
they  are  worth  their  price;  rather,  they  are  beyond  price,  and  their 
value  cannot  be  estimated  by  dollars." 

Graduates  from  technical  schools  are  excellent  material  out  of 
which,  with  a  few  years'  experience,  may  come  engineers  of  the 
first  order.  They  have  been  given  the  knowledge  and  the  training 
to  think,  they  know  how  to  attack  a  problem,  but  they  lack  in  skill. 
In  accepting  a  position  preferably  choose  that  which  will  best,  pre- 
pare you  for  advancement.  As  a  rule  the  higher  up  one  begins  the 
earlier  promotion  stops,  and  the  lower  down  one  begins  the 
higher  will  he  ultimately  climb.  The  man  at  the  top  should  know  in  a 
practical  way  all  the  work  over  which  he  is  called  upon  to  preside. 
With  your  college  training  you  should  master  details  rapidly  and 
in  a  few  years  you  will  outstrip  the  practical  man  or  the  man  who 
has  an  indifferent  preparation.  Be  careful  not  to  accept  a  position 
in  which  you  have  no  opportunity  to  rise,  or  where  the  experience 
will  not  be  valuable.  One  of  the  greatest  opportunities  that  you 
have  in  college  is  to  cpme  in  contact  with  men  who  are  devoting 
their  lives  to  science,  mathematics  and  engineering,  and  who  live 
in  their  work.  When  you  get  out  in  the  world,  if  possible  get  an 
opportunity  to  work  under  the  leaders  in  your  profession.  Their 
example  will  be  an  inspiration  and  their  friendship  will  be  invalu- 
able. 

If  it  is  your  ambition  only  to  get  so  many  dollars  a  day  or  so 
many  dollars  a  month;  if  all  work  is  something  which  is  distasteful 
to  you;  if  you  are  willing  to  be  a  plodder,  to  be  handicapped  in  the 
race  for  life;  it  will  not  pay  you  to  make  the  necessary  effort  to 
get  a  technical  education.  But  if  you  are  ambitious  to  do  and  to 
serve,  to  enter  a  profession  that  will  occupy  all  of  your  energy,  and 
one  in  which  honesty,  integrity,  constructive  imagination,  clear 
thinking,  painstaking,  careful  work  counts;  where  you  have  to  deal 
not  only  with  the  forces  of  nature,  but.  with  men,  it  will  pay  you  to 
get  a  technical  education.  The  measure  of  success  in  life  is  not 
measured  by  the  money  accumulated,  but  in  a  good  work  well  done. 
A  large  part  of  the  compensation  in  any  profession  must  be  found 
in  the  doing  of  the  day's  work,  in  the  joy  that  comes  from  work 
well  done.  The  beginning  may  be  slow,  but  success  will  come 
sooner  or  later  and  with  it  sufficient  emoluments  for  your  needs,  to- 
gether with  the  satisfaction  of  a  life  well  spent. 


16  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

The  technical  school  is  the  poor  man's  opportunity,  for  there  it 
is  the  man  that  counts ;  wealth,  influence  and  birth  count  for  naught. 

If  you  are  to  get  a  technical  training,  you  should  get  the  best 
education  possible.  You  should  get  your  degree,  for  your  diploma 
will  be  to  you  what  the  stamp  is  to  the  gold  dollar.  Before  and 
after  graduation  you  should  do  everything  you  possibly  can  to  raise 
the  standard  of  the  institution.  For  it  is  your  institution;  its  suc- 
cess is  your  success,  its  failure  is  your  failure.  The  graduates  from 
our  College  of  Engineering  in  the  early  days  received  very  indifferent 
instruction,  but  by  its  growth  and  increase  in  reputation  their 
diplomas  have  become  as  valuable  as  those  from  any  other  institu- 
tion in  the  country.  They  should  feel  a  pride  in  our  work  ami 
should  support  us. 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  ENGINEER 


Engineering  may  be  defined  as  "The  art  and  science  of  direct- 
ing the  great  sources  of  power  in  nature  for  the  use  and  convenience  ~j 
of  man."     The  art  of  engineering  is  very  old,  dating  back  to  the     > 
dawn  of  civilization,'  while  the  science  of  engineering  is  of  recent 
date  and  is  now  in  a  development  stage. 

Scientific  knowledge  may  be  of  three  kinds;  purely  scientific 
knowledge,  purely  practical  knowledge^  and  that  intermediate 
knowledge  which  relates  to  the  application  of  scientific  principles 
to  practical  purposes  and  which  arises  from  understanding  the  har- 
mony of  theory  and  practice. 

The  object  in  giving  instruction  in  the  first  or  pure  science  Is 
to  cultivate  the  mind  of  the  student  and  to  qualify  him,  if  possible, 
to  become  a  scientific  discoverer.  In  pure  science  exactness  is  an 
essential  feature  and  mathematical  difficulties  must  be  overcome 
whenever  they  appear.  The  main  objects  are  to  determine  truths 
without  reference  to  their  utility. 

The  object  in  giving  instruction  in  practical  knowledge  or  the 
trade  or  art  of  engineering  is  to  acquaint  the  student  with  the  pres- 
ent state  of  the  art,  to  give  him  such  training  that  he  may  inspect 
materials  and  workmanship,  and  may  be  able  to  direct  the  opera- 
tions of  workmen  and  transact  commercial  business  that  is  con- 
nected with  engineering  work. 

The  object  in  giving  instruction  in  the  science  of  engineering, 
applied  science,  is  to  enable  the  student  to  apply  scientific  principles 
to  practical  purposes.  It  enables  the  student  to  plan  a  machine  or 
a  structure  for  a  particular  purpose  without  copying  an  existing 
machine  or  structure,  or  to  improve  an  existing  machine  or  structure 
without  recourse  to  a  cut  and  try  method.  The  engineer  should 
also  be  so  well  trained  in  mathematics  and  science  that  he  may 
undertake  investigations  in  pure  science,  when  such  investigations 
are  required  to  be  made. 

The  distinction  between  pure  and  applied  science  is  one,  not  of 
method,  but  of  aim.  The  methods  employed  by  the  physicist  or  the 
chemist  are  to  a  very  great  extent  the  same  as  those  used  by  the 
engineer  in  the  higher  branches  of  engineering.  The  physicist  en- 
deavors to  discover  new  properties  of  matter  and  new  laws  for  the 


18  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

sake  of  extending  his  knowledge  and  without  any  thought  as  to 
their  utility  or  possibility  of  their  application  to  the  service  of  man. 
While  the  worker  in  pure  science  is  not  necessarily  interested  in 
the  utility*  of  his  discoveries,  it  is  a  striking  feature  of  the  history  of 
science  that  nearly  every  discovery  in  pure  science  has  been  turned 
to  account  by  the  engineer  or  doctor. 

It  is  the  province  of  engineering  or  applied  science  to  select 
those  facts  known  to  science  and  to  apply  them  to  the  solution  of 
industrial  problems.  To  make  the  application  of  scientific  facts 
and  discoveries  may  require  additional  experiments  on  a  commer- 
cial scale,  which  has  led  to '  the  creation  of  large  experimental 
laboratories  in  our  universities  and  by  industrial  concerns. 

While  practical  application  may  lag  behind  theory,  not  infre- 
quently theory  lags  behind  practice.  In  pure  science  when  a  doubt- 
ful point  arises,  for  the  solution  of  which  either  experimental  data 
are  wanting  or  mathematical  methods  are  not  sufficiently  advanced, 
the  worker  must  either  supply  the  necessary  experimental  data  or 
develop  new  methods,  or  await  patiently  the  time  when  the  neces- 
sary data  and  methods  will  be  furnished  by  others. 

In  engineering,  in  doubtful  cases,  our  machine  or  structure  must 
be  designed  and  constructed  with  the  experimental  data  and  mathe- 
matical methods  available.  If  existing  data  are  insufficient  to  give 
an  exact  solution  of  the  problem,  that  approximate  solution  must 
be  chosen  which  is  the  "most  probable.  The  engineer  therefore 
must  not  only  have  training  in  pure  science,. but  must  have  prompt 
and  sound  judgment. 

While  the  aims  and  purposes  of  the  workers  in  pure  science  and 
in  applied  science  are  not  the  same,  the  same  qualities  of  mind  and 
the  same  sort  of  training  are  required  by  an  engineer  as  by  a 
worker  in  pure  science.  Though  the  scale  of  experiments  may  be 
different,  the  general  method  of  attack  must  be  the  same  in  both 
cases.  The  object  of  applied  science  is  to  keep  the  applications  of 
science  abreast  of  the  advance  of  pure  science  and  to  keep  pure 
science  abreast  of  the  applications.  The  engineer  is  interested  not 
only  in  the  application  of  the  facts  of  pure  science  that  have  already 
been  discovered  and  formulated,  but  is  equally  interested  in  extend- 
ing the  domain  of  pure  science  in  fields  where  the  practical  applica- 
tions have  outstripped  the  theory. 

The  engineer  must  have  training  in  mathematics  and  the  sci- 
ences, so  that  he  can  use  them  with  the  confidence  and  certainty 


THE  MAKING  OF  AN  ENGINEER.  19 

that  a  good  workman  uses  his  tools.  The  engineer's  training  in 
mathematics  and  sciences  should  be  given  with  the  idea  of  clear- 
ness of  thinking,  and  should  include  not  only  those  parts  of  the 
science  that  will  be  directly  useful,  but  also  those  parts  of  the  sci- 
ence that  will  give  general  training  and  will  inspire  the  student  in 
a  love  for  the  science  for  science's  sake.  The  training  in  pure 
mathematics  is  not  less  rigorous  or  scientific  because  the  student 
knows  that  he  must  obtain  such  a  definite  grasp  of  the  subject  that 
he  may  be  able  to  use  it  as  a  tool,  or  because  certain  parts  of 
algebra  and  trigonometry  are  omitted  in  preliminary  courses,  to  be 
taken  up  later  or  in  connection  with  the  applications.  It  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  that  the  engineering  student  shall  be  trained  in 
the  scientific  habit.  The  training  should  be  such  as  to  enable  the 
student  to  see  a  problem  not  only  in  detail,  but  in  its  entirety,  to 
enable  him  to  select  the  pertinent  data  and  premises  and  to  reason 
logically  from  these  to  the  final  conclusion. 

The  engineer  must  work  with  approximate  data  and  measure- 
ments, and  the  results  that  he  obtains  are  therefore  subject  to  the 
same  approximations  and  limitations  as  are  the  data.  The  worker 
in  pure  mathematics  carries  all  his  indetermined  constants  along 
to  the  end,  and  obtains  equations  containing  constants  which  must 
be  supplied  and  assumptions  which  must  be  approximated  before 
the  result  is  of  any  practical  use.  The  engineer  makes  his  ap- 
proximations and  assumptions  in  the  beginning,  and  the  resulting 
equations  are  immediately  of  service.  The  mathematical  theory  of 
the  engineer  is  as  rigorous  as  that  of  the  pure  mathematician,  the 
difference  being  in  the  aim. 

Mathematics  as  taught  to  engineers  should  include  both  alge- 
braic analysis  and  graphic  analysis.  Algebraic  analysis  alone,  espe- 
cially when  taught  by  a  man  who  has  had  no  experience  in  the 
practical  applications,  is  very  liable  to  become  merely  a  matter  of 
juggling  with  symbols  with  an  entire  failure  to  develop  the  ability 
of  the  student  to  reduce  observed  data  and  facts  to  mathematical 
language.  First  and  most  important  of  all,  mathematics  must  be 
taught  concretely  and  not  abstractly.  The  student  should  be  taught 
that  general  mathematical  formulas  are  necessary  when  developing 
general  cases  or  when  writing  a  book,  but  when  studying  a  par- 
ticular special  problem  the  student  should  be  taught  to  reason  in 
particular  language  at  once.  There  is  too  much  of  a  tendency  for 


20  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

the  student  to  memorize  formulas  instead  of  grasping  and  seeing 
principles. 

While  mathematics  and  sciences  are  absolutely  essential  for 
the  engineer,  a  knowledge  of  one's  mother  tongue  is  even  more  es- 
sential. The  object  of  an  engineering  course  is  to  prepare  the  stu- 
dent to  enter  the  profession  of  engineering  as  an  apprentice  so  that 
he  may  develop  into  an  engineer.  The  engineer  not  only  designs 
and  directs  engineering  operations,  but  he  must  prepare  reports  of 
proposed  projects  and  write  specifications  for  carrying  out  work. 
He  must  have  command  of  language  so  that  he  can  use  exactly  the 
proper  word  or  expression;  he  must  be  able  to  use  words  not  only 
with  scientific  exactness,  but  with  historical  correctness  as  well. 
The  engineer  must  acquire  a  large  vocabulary  if  he  is  to  make  the 
best  use  of  his  scientific  training.  After  a  training  in  science  and 
mathematics  the  most  important  thing  for  the  engineering  student 
is  training  in  language.  In  fact,  the  training  in  language  is  neces- 
sary to  properly  understand  a  scientific  principle  or  a  mathematical 
proposition.  One  cannot  have  ideas  without  language  to  express 
the  ideas. 

In  discussing  engineering  education  it  has  been  customary  to 
refer  to  courses  such  as  philosophy,  logic  and  language  and  other 
courses  such  as  are  given  in  Arts  Colleges  as  the  humanities,  and 
many  assume  that  these  particular  courses  are  more  humanistic  and 
liberalizing  than  are  courses  in  physics,  applied  mechanics,  thermo- 
dynamics or  the  theory  of  alternating  currents.  This  conception  is 
entirely  wrong,  for  the  liberalizing  and  humanizing  value  lies  not 
in  the  subject  matter,  but  in  the  teacher. 

The  engineering  teacher  should  be  a  man  who  has  had  a  liberal 
education  as  well  as  thorough  training  in  mathematics  and  the 
sciences,  and  in  addition  he  should  have  had  an  extensive  engi- 
neering and  business  experience.  Much  of  the  training  in  business, 
law,  ethics,  logic  and  morals  must  be  given  incidentally;  in  fact, 
the  humanities  can  best  be  given  incidentally  in  connection  with 
the  strictly  engineering  courses  if  the  teachers  are  men  of  the 
proper  training  and  have  the  right  point  of  view.  No  engineer  or 
worker  in  pure  or  applied  science  can  be  successful  unless  he  is 
honest,  unless  he  is  moral,  unless  he  has  a  proper  conception  of  his 
duties  toward  society  and  toward  his  God;  and  no  man  is  qualified 
to  be  a  teacher  unless  he  has  a  proper  appreciation  of  these  ele- 
ments and  of  his  responsibility  for  inculcating  these  proper  stand- 
ards in  the  minds  of  his  students. 


FIELD  OF  THE  ENGINEER 


Many  do  not  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  meaning  of  the  term 
"engineer"  as  used  in  the  profession  of  engineering.  An  engineer 
is  a  man  that  uses  and  directs  the  forces  of  nature  for  the  benefit 
of  man.  He  designs,  constructs  and  operates. 

The  civil  engineer  designs  and  superintends  the  erection  of 
bridges,  buildings,  industrial  plants,  mine  buildings  and  similar 
structures  which  are  built  of  timber,  steel  and  reinforced  concrete; 
tests  engineering  materials;  designs  and  constructs  railroads;  de- 
signs and  constructs  and  operates  waterworks,  power  plants  and 
sewerage  systems;  designs,  constructs  and  operates  irrigation  sys-. 
terns.  The  civil  engineer  also  makes  valuation  estimates  of  exist- 
ing structures  and  plants  and  acts  as  a  valuation  engineer  and  arbi- 
trator. The  future  development  of  Colorado  depends  largely  on  the 
conserving  and  proper  use  of  the  water  and  other  natural  resources. 
One  of  the  most  important  fields  for  the  civil  engineer  will  be  the 
development  of  the  state  by  the  design,  construction  and  operation 
of  efficient  irrigation  systems.  The  construction  of  highways  will 
call  for  many  civil  engineers. 

The  electrical  engineer  designs  and  constructs  electrical  ma- 
chinery such  as  motors,  dynamos,  transformers,  etc.;  makes  tests 
of  the  efficiency  of  electrical  machines  and  apparatus;  designs  and 
constructs  power  plants  and  lighting  plants;  designs,  constructs 
and  operates  electric  railways;  designs,  constructs  and  operates  the 
electric  signal  systems  for  railroads;  designs,  constructs  and  oper- 
ates electrical  equipment  for  mines  and  for  irrigation  systems;  de- 
signs, constructs  and  operates  telephone  and  telegraph  systems;  is 
developing  and  perfecting  wireless  telegraphy.  The  electrical  engi- 
neer also  makes  valuation  estimates  of  existing  electrical  plants 
and  acts  as  a  valuation  engineer  and  arbitrator. 

The  mechanical  engineer  designs,  constructs  and  erects  steam 
engines  and  boilers;  designs,  constructs  and  erects  gas  engines; 
designs  and  constructs  locomotives  and  railway  rolling  stock;  de- 
signs, constructs  and  erects  the  power  plants  and  mechanical  equip- 
ment of  mines;  designs,  constructs  and  erects  pumps  and  pumping 
engines;  designs,  constructs  and  erects  the  machines  and  other 
equipment  for  railroad  shops,  machine  shops  and  factories  for  the 


22.  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

manufacture  of  machines,  steel  bridges,  rolled  steel  and  all  man- 
ufactured products;  designs  and  constructs  automobiles;  designs, 
constructs  and  operates  the  signal  department  of  railroads;  designs, 
constructs  and  erects  heating,  ventilating  and  refrigeration  plants; 
tests  fuels  and  oils;  makes  tests  to  determine  the  efficiency  of 
steam  engines,  gas  engines,  boilers  and  mechanical  equipment.  The 
mechanical  engineer  also  makes  valuation  estimates  of  existing 
plants  and  acts  as  a  valuation  engineer  and  arbitrator. 

The  chemical  engineer  is  a  mechanical  engineer  with  a  thor- 
ough training  in  theoretical  and  industrial  chemistry.  The  chem- 
ical engineer  designs,  constructs,  erects  and  operates  sugar  fac- 
tories and  chemical  works;  designs,  erects  and  operates  gas  plants. 
The  chemical  engineer  also  finds  employment  in  smelters  and  mills, 
with  mines  and  factories  in  which  it  is  essential  that  the  engineer 
be  a  chemist  with  an  engineering  training  or  a  mechanical  engineer 
with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  chemistry.  The  chemical  engineer 
is  prepared  to  enter  practically  all  lines  of  work  open  to  the  me- 
chanical engineer.  The  chemical  engineer  also  makes  valuation 
estimates  of  existing  plants  and  acts  as  a  valuation  engineer  and 
arbitrator. 

Formerly  engineering  was  divided  into  two  branches,  civil  engi- 
neering and  military  engineering.  The  term  "civil  engineer"  was 
used  in  a  broad  sense  and  covered  all  engineering  except  military 
engineering.  The  field  was  too  broad  and  after  a  time  the  field  of 
the  civil  engineer  was  limited  by  the  recognition  of  the  profession 
of  mechanical  engineering,  electrical  engineering  and  chemical  en- 
gineering. Civil  engineering  is  still  very  broad  and  includes  not 
only  the  design,  construction  and  operation  of  engineering  works, 
but  also  the  problem  of  the  sanitation  and  public  health  of  towns 
and  cities. 

The  government  of  towns  and  cities  has  been  notoriously  in- 
adequate. Men  who  had  failed  in  business  or  who  had  no  training 
or  experience  in  business  were  considered  competent  to  conduct 
the  affairs  of  our  towns  and  cities.  Election  to  the  board  of  alder- 
men was  considered  as  qualifying  a  man  in  business  administration 
and  as  making  him  an  expert  in  sanitation  and  matters  of  public 
health.  The  city  manager  plan,  which  has  been  successfully  car- 
ried on  in  several  large  cities,  substitutes  a  trained  expert  for  the 
inefficient  city  official,  and  substitutes  sound  business  manage- 
ment of  the  city's  business  in  the  place  of  inefficiency  or  graft,  or 


FIELD  OF  THE  ENGINEER.  23 

in  place  of  both.  The  city  manager  must  be  a  man  of  some  ma- 
turity who  has  had  business  experience  and  experience  in  the  de- 
sign, construction  and  operation  of  waterworks  and  sewerage  sys- 
tems, and  the  design  and  maintenance  of  highways  and  pavements. 
The  civil  engineer  is  the  only  man  whose  training  and  experience 
qualify  him  for  the  position,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
city  managers  have  thus  far  all  been  civil  engineers.  The  govern- 
ment of  cities  offers  a  field  of  unlimited  possibilities  to  the  civil 
engineer;  offering  not  only  a  commensurate  remuneration,  but  an 
opportunity  to  take  part  in  the  working  out  of  the  problems  of  liv- 
ing and  the  government  of  cities,  two  great  problems  now  pressing 
for  solution. 

The  trend  of  the  time  is  toward  the  control  of  the  great  corpo- 
rations. To  adjust  rates  it  is  necessary  first  to  have  a  physical 
valuation.  The  physical  valuation  of  railroads  and  other  public 
service  corporations  offers  opportunities  for  almost  an  unlimited 
number  of  engineers.  With  government  control  will  come  govern- 
ment ownership,  and  a  demand  for  engineers  to  control  and  oper- 
ate the  public  utilities. 

Engineering  is  technical  training  plus  experience.     The  tech- 
nical training  you  can  get  in  a  satisfactory  manner  only  in  a  high 
grade  technical  school.     The  only  experience  that  is  of  value  comes 
to  the  man  who  has  had  an  adequate  technical  training.    For  a  7 
few  years  after  graduation  the  engineering  graduate  must  be  will-  (• 
ing  to  serve  in  subordinate  positions  in  order  to  get  the  necessary  ( 
experience  to  qualify  him  for  the  higher  positions.     If  you  desire  ) 
to  be  a  factor  in  the  world's  work,  to  occupy  a  position  of  responsi- 
bility, you  must  obtain  the  necessary  technical  training  and  after 
that  an  adequate  experience.     The  minimum  technical  training  is  a 
four-year  course  in  engineering  in  a  high  grade  technical  school. 
You  cannot  aftord  to  be  handicapped  in  your  life's  work,  but  should 
get  the  best  preparation  possible  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 


OPPORTUNITIES  OF  THE  ENGINEER 


During  the  past  twenty  years  there  has  been  a  remarkable  de- 
velopment along  the  line  of  technical  education  in  America.  The 
engineering  schools  during  this  time  have  graduated  many  thou- 
sands of  young  men  who  have  been  given  a  training  preparatory  to 
entering  the  profession  of  engineering.  For  the  young  man  who  is 
about  to  graduate  from  the  high  school  or  is  a  student  in  college 
it  is  worth  while  to  analyze  the  problem  to  see  what  has  become  of 
these  men  and  to  try  to  determine  what  are  the  opportunities  of  a 
man  with  an  engineering  training. 

The  aim  in  an  engineering  course  is  to  give  the  student  a  well- 
balanced  training  in  mathematics,  mechanics,  the  sciences,  and 
language;  and  in  addition  to  give  him  a  knowledge  of  economics 
and  of  business  affairs.  The  idea  is  to  produce  a  well-rounded  and 
well-balanced  man;  to  develop  not  only  the  engineering  and  con- 
structive ability  of  the  student,  but  to  develop  his  business  ability 
and  his  knowledge  of  men  and  affairs.  In  brief  "the  aim  of  an 
engineering  training  is  to  make  a  man  out  of  a  boy." 

If  an  engineering  training  accomplishes  what  I  have  just  out- 
lined it  should  not  only  be  an  excellent  preparation  for  the  profes- 
sion of  engineering,  but  should  be  an  excellent  preparation  to  enter 
business,  contracting  and  manufacturing,  as  well  as  an  excellent 
preparation  for  law.  That  many  engineers  have  made  a  notable 
success  in  the  above  lines  is  shown  by  a  study  of  the  alumni 
directories  of  the  University  of  Colorado  and  of  other  technical 
schools.  In  this  article  I  will  outline  and  briefly  discuss  the  differ- 
ent lines  of  work  in  which  engineers  are  making  notable  records, 
and  in  which  engineering  graduates  will  find  ample  opportunities 
for  a  successful  career.  , 

ENGINEERING.— Engineering  has  been  defined  as  the  "Art 
and  science  of  directing  the  great  sources  of  power  in  nature  for 
the  use  and  convenience  of  man."  It  will  be  seen  that  engineering 
includes  in  its  sphere  nearly  everything  that  makes  for  progress 
and  that  adds  to  the  material  comfort  of  man.  The  engineer  has 
been  the  pioneer  who  has  blazed  the  way,  who  has  built  roads, 
railroads  and  bridges;  who  has  developed  the  water  power;  who 
has  mined  the  coal  and  the  metals;  who  has  developed  the  steam 


OPPORTUNITIES  OF  THE  ENGINEER.  25 

engine,  and  who  has  developed  electricity  and  all  the  modern  meth- 
ods of  transportation  and  communication  that  make  modern  civili- 
zation possible.  Engineering  has  to  do  with  construction,  with 
production,  with  transportation  and  with  distribution.  The  oppor- 
tunities for  the  engineer  in  engineering  are  increasing  with  every 
advance  in  the  complexity  of  our  civilization.  The  present  demand 
in  engineering  is  for  men  who  have  had  the  theoretical  and  tech- 
nical training  to  enable  them  to  solve  problems  under  the  direction 
of  experienced  engineers,  and  who  have  the  training  that  will  en- 
able them  to  hold  responsible  positions  when  they  have  sufficient 
experience.  For  young  men  who  have  graduated  from  high  grade 
technical  schools  there  are  excellent  opportunities  in  engineering 
lines,  and  with  the  commercial  development  which  must  soon  come 
the  opportunities  will  multiply. 

MANUFACTURING  AND  ALLIED  INDUSTRIES.— Many  man- 
ufactured products,  such  as  cement,  sugar,  chemicals,  machinery, 
the  manufacture  of  gas  and  electric  power,  require  engineers  for 
their  efficient  production.  With  the  closing  of  European  markets 
it  has  been  necessary  to  manufacture  many  products,  such  as 
chemicals  and  dye  stuffs,  in  this  country  that  had  formerly  been 
imported.  The  manufacture  of  these  articles  require?  men  with 
engineering  training  and  a  high  grade  of  technical  skill,  and  offers 
exceptional  opportunities  for  engineering  graduates. 

CONTRACTING.— The  engineering  graduate  with  his  training 
in  engineering  and  in  the  law  of  contracts  has  had  an  excellent 
training  to  enter  the  field  of  contracting.  Many  contractors  have 
a  large  staff  of  engineers,  so  that  the  young  engineer  has  an  oppor- 
tunity to  obtain  experience  not  only  in  business  methods,  but  in 
engineering  proper.  Many  kinds  of  contracting  are  carried  on  al- 
most exclusively  by  engineers,  which  has  given  rise  to  the  term 
"Engineering-Contractor."  For  a  young  man  who  has  business  tact 
and  the  ability  to  meet  men  contracting  offers  a  profitable  and  an 
attractive  field.  Engineering  is  an  excellent  training  for  contract- 
ing. 

LAW. — A  considerable  part  of  the  practice  of  a  lawyer  has  to 
do  with  construction,  with  production,  or  with  transportation  in 
which  an  engineering  training  is  very  valuable.  Attorneys  en- 
gaged in  patent  litigation  and  judges  who  hear  patent  suits  need 
an  engineering  training.  Many  engineers  have  found  very  un- 


26  ENGINEERING  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

usual  opportunities  in  the  law,  and  the  increasing  complexity  of 
civilization  will  make  additional  opportunities  in  the  future.  There 
is  no  better  preliminary  training  for  the  law  than  engineering. 

BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCIAL  LIFE.— Many  engineers  have 
found  their  engineering  college  training  of  great  use  in  business 
life.  The  training  in  accurate  reasoning  and  in  doing  things  in  a 
methodical  way  are  invaluable  for  the  man  in  business. 

In  addition  to  the  fields  of  endeavor  that  are  commonly  classed 
as  engineering,  the  engineer  has  been  recently  put  in  charge  of 
valuation  work  of  public  utilities  and  has  taken  a  leading  part  in 
the  city  government  as  city  manager. 

VALUATION  OF  UTILITIES.— There  has  recently  been  a  de- 
mand for  the  valuation  of  railroads,  street  railways,  waterworks 
and  other  utilities,  either  to  determine  fair  and  equitable  rates  or 
for  purchase.  This  valuation  work  must  be  made  by  engineers  and 
the  positions  of  responsibility  can  best  be  filled  by  engineers.  At 
present  the  demand  for  engineers  on  the  valuation  of  railroads  now 
being  carried  on  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  is  greater 
than  the  supply.  This  work  alone  will  require  many  years  to  com- 
plete and  will  require  the  continued  services  of  a  very  large  number 
of  engineers.  Railroad  valuation  work  offers  an  unusual  oppor- 
tunity for  engineering  graduates. 

CITY  MANAGER.— Many  cities  have  adopted  the  city  manager 
form  of  government.  Engineers  are  the  only  men  qualified  for  the 
position  of  city  manager,  and  almost  without  exception  civil  engi- 
neers have  been  appointed  to  the  position  of  city  manager.  An 
engineering  training,  together  with  additional  training  in  public 
health  work  and  in  accounting,  are  the  requirements  for  a  city 
manager. 

PUBLIC  HEALTH  WORK.— With  the  increased  responsibility 
for  the  health  of  the  public  has  come  a  demand  for  men  who  have 
been  trained  in  sanitation  and  in  public  health  problems.  The 
engineering  graduate  is  better  prepared  than  the  graduates  of  any 
other  department  to  take  up  work  in  public  health. 

In  connection  with  the  opportunities  for  the  engineering  grad- 
uate in  engineering  work  it  should  be  remembered  that  we  are  on 
the  eve  of  wonderful  commercial  and  industrial  changes  which  will 
require  more  engineers  than  are  available.  The  great  war  will  not 
only  greatly  diminish  the  number  of  engineers  in  Europe,  but  will 


OPPORTUNITIES  OF  THE  ENGINEER.  27 

draw  back  practically  all  European  engineers  from  Mexico,  South 
America  and  other  sections.  This  will  result  in  a  great  demand 
for  American  engineers  abroad  as  well  as  at  home.  In  addition  to 
the  very  unusual  opportunities  open  for  engineering  graduates  it 
should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  work  of  the  engineer  is  con- 
structive  and  there  comes  to  him  the  added  pleasure  of  being  of  y 
service  in  the  development  of  society  and  the  advance  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  outlook  for  engineers  was  never  better  and  wonderful 
opportunities  await  the  young  men  in  engineering  who  are  just 
graduating  or  who  will  graduate  from  engineering  schools  within 
the  next  few  years. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAR  2  7 1957 


•AR28196& 
REC'D  COL  U 


,    --T 
FEB131967 

SEC'D  COL  LIB. 

Se  JUL28'6p 
JUL '2.2 1969 


Form  L9-40m-7,'56(C790s4)444 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LTJS  ANGELES 


Ketchini  - 

157  Engineering 

|K49     a  profession. 


BINDERY  MARi  22  1957 


TA 
157 

KU9 


AA    001273486    9 


